Valentine’s Day flower arrangements sent to U.S. Congressmen by the Colombian embassy in Washington prompted a security warning message in the Capitol, Caracol Noticias reported on Thursday.
This week, the Colombian embassy in Washington launched an initiative in cooperation with the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores) to promote Colombian-grown flowers ahead of Valentine’s Day in the United States. Colombian ambassador Daniel García-Peña personally led the embassy’s efforts to deliver Colombian flower bouquets to all 535 members of Congress.
In a video published on social media, Ambassador García-Peña detailed that the initiative sought to show the importance of trade between the U.S. and Colombia.
“We, Colombia, are the main supplier of flowers to the United States, and 80 percent of the flowers we export from Colombia come to the United States,” García-Peña said. “This generates 220,000 jobs in this country, and a similar number in Colombia. A clear example of how trade between the two countries benefits both countries.”
“It is a beautiful way for Colombia, the country of beauty, to be present this weekend of love and friendship,” he continued.
On Thursday, Caracol Noticias reported that its journalist Julio Sánchez Cristo had obtained a copy of a Senate Operations Center warning message titled, “Unsolicited Flower Deliveries to Senate Offices.” The note reportedly encouraged calls to local police to arrange pickup and disposal of the unsolicited flowers if they were received.
Cristo published a screenshot of the alleged message on his personal Instagram account.
The Colombian embassy responded to the local controversy in a Thursday night statement confirming that it delivered Valentine’s Day bouquets to U.S. Congressmen and asserting that it was part of a longstanding practice for this embassy, in coordination with U.S. Congress staff. The embassy claimed that that 90 percent of the flower arrangements sent this week to members of the U.S. House of Representatives and over 90 percent of the ones sent to Senate members were received without issue.
“According to Senate rules, gifts of intrinsic value, including floral arrangements, are permitted. Those delivered by this Embassy are fully compliant with these provisions,” the statement read. “In the context of alleged enhanced security protocols, the Senate operations center circulated a communication regarding deliveries, indicating a point of contact for handling any returns, should they arise.”
“The public expressions of appreciation and thanks received from numerous legislators reflect that the gesture was received in the spirit of friendship in which it was offered,” the statement concluded.
According to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, Colombian flower exports to the United States exceeded $1.3 billion in 2025, and accounted for nearly 60 percent of all U.S. flower imports in that year, with around 720 million Colombian flowers sent to the U.S. between January and February 2025 for that year’s Valentines’ Day season. Floriculture reportedly accounts for almost 28 percent of all formal agricultural employment in Colombia.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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